


Blackened

by sevenholypathstohell



Category: Scarecrow Series - Matthew Reilly
Genre: Gen, Origin Stories, warning:heartbreak ahead, watch out for those bounty hunters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-14 13:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3412802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenholypathstohell/pseuds/sevenholypathstohell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aloysius Knight. The single most feared bounty hunter of the modern age. A distinguished soldier transformed into a ruthless mercenary, this story explores the origins, the motives, and the results of a living weapon turned loose upon the world.</p><p>This fic will cover as much as I can put in from Yemen to the events of Scarecrow. Expect some really gory bits later on so don't read those on a full stomach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Knight In Sudan- Part 1

_September 7th, 1998_

_Port Sudan, Sudan_

_2030hrs_

“Exactly how do these crazies train in here?” Knight muttered under his breath. Even from outside the warehouse reeked of fish guts and cordite. Sneaking in through a window at the rear of the warehouse, he deftly landed on a first story catwalk, dropped to a high kneel and surveyed his surroundings, rifle up and readied.

The warehouse cum al-Qaeda base had a simple three level layout. The top floor had a control room for the organization’s top brass, complete with bulletproof windows. On the middle floor was the armory, which Knight reckoned had enough explosive material to blow these fuckers to the stone age where they belonged. Finally, the ground floor was the training ground, with an obstacle course, rifle range, and sandpit for testing IEDs. Knight humorously wondered if they’d been to an American boot camp.. Each level had a catwalk that followed the perimeter of the warehouse, connected to each other by a pair of staircases on either side. All draped in cloths depicting various radical Islamist propaganda calling for the head of Western civilization. Knight crept along the catwalk, sticking to the shadows, noting that not a single guard was on watch. Something was terribly fishy about this mission he’d been sent on, and it wasn’t from the nearby marketplace.

 

V

 

“Snake Pit, this is Adder.” Knight hushed into his throat-mike.

“Come in Adder, what’s the sitrep?” his base commander replied.

“I’m in, the place is deserted.”

“As in buttfuck nothing?”

“I’ve scouted the two lower floors, there’s nobody in here. Materiel-wise, nothing intelligence hasn’t already filled us in on-wait” Knight ducked behind a pile of crates, and poked round the other side, again under the cover of shadows.

“What is it?”

“I have a visual on the control room.” Knight whispered. “There’s a couple of tangoes in it.”

He raised his compact binoculars, and what he saw made him shit an entire pile of bricks.

“Sir, it’s Geronimo. Repeat, I have eyes on Geronimo”.

 

V

 

The target named Geronimo was unmistakable; clad in an off-white religious garb and possessing an 8 inch beard, he was none other than Osama bin Laden. Construction tycoon, sometime hero of the Afghan Soviet insurgency, FBI top 10 terrorist.

“Is the target solitary?”

“Negative, sir. There’s 3 other guys with him,” Knight zoomed in on their faces, and instantly felt a knot in his stomach. “They’re Caucasian.”

“.....roger that. Adder, listen to me very carefully-”

“Sir, no disrespect intended, but what the actual fuck is going on?” Knight challenged.

“Do _not_ interrupt me, Captain Knight” Snake Pit cut him off brusquely. “You will follow my instructions to the letter or we’re all in the the shithouse, do you copy?”

“..yes, Sir.”

“Adder, your instructions are to stand down and wait for backup, we’re sending reinforcements your way. Let me make that doubly clear, you are NOT to engage Geronimo or his compatriots.”

Knight’s gut feelings turned from disbelief to utter stupefaction. “Can you confirm, sir? I have a clean shot on the target.”

“It’s not my call, Captain, it’s coming straight from the top, they’re to rescue the spooks you have eyes on.”

So this is what was, Knight thought to himself, the fucking CIA was helping this guy up, but why?

“Yes, Sir. What’s the status of that backup?

“We’ve sent Taipan in on Wyvern's chopper to help neutralize him and grab the spooks, eta for his chopper is thirty mikes.”

Knight ground his teeth in annoyance “Then tell them to hurry their fuckasses over, I doubt our guy’s gonna stick around. Over and out.”

Knight maintained his gunsight on the control room, watching in despair as the opportunity to take the fucker by surprise slid him by.

He couldn’t have known that  his commanding officer, a Lieutenant Colonel Trevin Rhodes, had been speaking with a 9mm trained on the back of his head. Its owner, man with intense black eyes and the face of a rat. “Impressive work, sir.” Rat Face clapped mockingly. Rhodes sighed. “How much longer do you need me around, you little fuck?” “We have other things we need your help with. Pack your bags soon, we’ll be headed for Cairo in a couple days.”

 

V

 

About 50 miles away across the Red Sea, the MH-60 Black Hawk thundered over the waves- a screeching bird on its way to deliver vengeful talons. Inside the chopper’s hold sat 16 operators from the shadowy elite of the US Army, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment- Delta. The Delta Force. Every man on this team had been serving for no less than 8 years and seen action in Iraq, Somalia, and of course, Afghanistan. Each had customized his own uniform to his personal preferences and outfitted their loadouts according to their tastes, the perks that came with being Tier One. The commander of this elite squad, Captain Wade Brandeis, fished out a sound suppressor from his combat webbing and screwed it onto his MP5N submachine gun. The rest who had not suppressed their weapons beforehand instinctively did the same.

"The Heckler & Koch MP5SN." one of the operators mused. "Load it up with subsonic ammo and no one will hear you coming". "Yeah, like Gracie never heard you coming." another replied to lewd snickering.

"Can it, Mack." The first operator replied.

Brandeis cut in "Told ya before, Giggs' ex is a no go. How'd ya feel if I brought up Marlie?"

"Oohhh!" The others cheered in derision.

Sergeant James Mackley pursed his lips "Riiight".

Brandeis smiled to himself, confident he'd gained the attention of the squad and said "So are we all clear on our objective?"

Only "Aye"s and "Yes sir"s from the team.

Brandeis nodded, "Excellent. Don't forget the ROE, engage only when I do, don't wanna give us away too fast. There will be multiple targets at the objective point, use utmost prejudice in putting them down."

Another chorus of "Yes sir"s.

Brandeis relaxed in his seat and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze on his face. "For God and country." he mumbled.

 

V

 

Brandeis saw that Knight was beyond pissed, even through his yellow-tinted shades. A thin line of blood dripped down his forehead. "Christ, Knight. Did you have a stroke waiting for us?"

"Pah, I might just have." Knight growled "If you hadn't been diddling around so much, you'd have seen OBL and them spooks leave on a jeep 10 mikes North."

Knight had seen the four take a stroll down to an unmarked vehicle, confident they were under no threat to their safety. He had his Colt Mk.18 Commando trained on them at every step. Only when he was sure he was truly alone did he smash his forehead on a crate in frustration.

"I see. Look Knight, there's something I gotta tell ya."

"Save it for the flight, we're going to get him while we still can."

"Knight, there's something way bigger at stake here. Bigger than you and I, it's gotta do with the bombings last month."

Knight narrowed his eyes "Yeah sure, Wade. Soon enough, you'll be running your mouth about, I dunno, spies in our unit." Brandeis was poker-faced. “Whatever, just don’t get on my nerves again for the next hour.” Knight turned around and walked towards the chopper, and that proved to save his life. "C'mon Rufus, time to roast the ham. Head North, if you'd be so kind."

Brandeis shook his head and gave a subtle nod pointing to both Knight and the chopper pilot.

"He goes too, he can't live after seeing this." he signed.

V

 

Knight didn't need eyes in the back of his head to see what was coming. He'd heard the clicking off of MP5 safeties. Heard the brushing of the guns against the squad's kevlar vests as they raised them. "Aw fuck" Knight breathed, "RUFUS!" And his world came crashing down to the sound of silenced machine gunfire.


	2. A Knight In Sudan- Part 2

_September 7th, 1998_

_Port Sudan, Sudan_

_2145hrs_

 

Rufus fell and landed hard on his back, tackled out of the chopper by Knight who crashed beside him. Had Knight been a second slower, the bulletstorm from Brandeis' men would've taken their heads. As Rufus groaned, trying to get his wits about, Knight was already on his feet, spitting out mouthfuls of soil.

"What the hell's going on, Wade?!" Rufus yelled.

"Country over comrades, Rufus!" Sergeant Mackley called.

"It's Knight we want! But being yer his friend, ya gotta go too!" Brandeis chimed in.

Rufus exchanged a shocked glance with Knight in between his cover fire. Knight was the face of hatred.

"We can make this quick and painless! Or if ya want, we can drag this shit out until ya beg us to kill ya!"

Knight leaned up to take another shot when Rufus nudged his shoulder and jerked his chin slightly, causing Knight to frown more than he did. While Brandeis had been distracting them with his illusion of choice, several operators were coming round the back of the chopper to flank them. Knight grit his teeth, he wouldn't be outsmarted by this rat.

"Rufus, cover fire please. I'll prepare our escape window." Knight said as he reached into his utility pocket.

Gunslinger style, Rufus whipped out his M9 pistol and opened fire on Brandeis' group, causing them to take cover. Simultaneously, Knight pulled out a silver canister, unlatched the safety and hurled it towards the flanking attackers, then closing his and Rufus' eyes.

The flashbang went off with stunning ferocity, and Brandeis' men were blinded, firing wildly.

V

"This way! We'll take cover in that lighthouse!" Knight called. Up ahead was an ancient lighthouse, its dull sides battered by waves and Father Time. Knight sought to take refuge in it, a bastion against his traitorous comrades. 300 yards of open ground stood between him and relative safety, and so he and Rufus hauled ass across the sandy plain before Brandeis could recover.

They covered half that distance before dust clouds erupted at their feet.

"Yow! Cover me!" Rufus yelled, a bullet sizzling inches past his ear.

Knight heaved his weapon over his head and blindly returned fire at Brandeis, forcing them to take cover again behind the chopper.

200 yards. Rufus and Knight ran for all they were worth. Brandeis called for a deadly change of tactics. Instead of firing en masse at Knight and Rufus, they were going to try and cut off their escape. Brandeis led slightly more than he would in front of Knight and fired, a quick and efficient double tap. The rounds zinged past Knight, forcing him to keep his head down as he ran.

250 yards. Knight and Rufus could hear their hearts pounding in their heads.

280\. Rufus broke into a final sprint. Then one round hit its mark, burrowing into his left calf.

"ARGGGH!" Rufus screamed, nearly falling over.

"Rufus! Fuck! Hang onto me, buddy!" Rufus draped his right arm around Knight, leading the way with his good leg while Knight turned around and returned fire at Brandeis. Miraculously, none of his guys had been hit. Yet.

"Follow them in. Time to squash these vermin." Brandeis instructed.

V

Rufus and Knight crashed through the entrance to the lighthouse with a resounding thud. Panting hard, Knight got up first, closed and locked the entrance, and went to assist Rufus.

"You ok, bud?"

"I'm fine, the fucker just winged me, I can still walk." Rufus pulled up his trousers to show Knight. Blood dribbled down his leg.

"'Tis just a flesh wound, I can still fight." Rufus reassured, quickly applying a tourniquet to stem the bleeding.

"Good, we'll need every last ounce of fight you've got, soldier". Knight replied, turning back to the door.

"We should go up, we'll have the advantage of height against these Gomers."

"Good thinking Rufus, but if you fall on the way, I'm leaving you as a distraction."

"Ahaha piss off, I'd sooner bellydrop on them and take a few down with me."

"That's the spirit. C'mon, up we go."

As before, Rufus led the way up the spiral staircase of the lighthouse with his uninjured  leg, Knight providing rear cover. The lighthouse went up for about 15 stories, with an ante room at the midway point. They'd reached 4 when Brandeis finally caught up. Knight heard the telltale signs of a door charge being planted. "Just keep going, Rufus! We're nearly there!"

"Charge is set." a junior sergeant said in a neutral voice. "Everyone clear!"

"Penn, run point. Eyes up." Mackley signed to Corporal Penn.

The door charge chewed the primitive doorframe to pieces, and Corporal Penn followed through, MP5 up and ready. He'd been expecting the two to be lying collapsed on the floor, all but defeated. Frowning, he looked up...

to see 3 gun barrels staring him in the face. He reacted a millisecond too late, for just as he made to pull the trigger, he caught a face full of lead. Knight's and Rufus' synchronized fire took down two more troops before they had to reload.

"Go go go! Everybody in!" Mackley yelled, taking advantage of the reprieve.

Knight and Rufus never stopped running, reloaded as they went. The way the staircase was designed made it slightly awkward to aim at their pursuers, but Knight correctly noted it was even harder for them to take a shot at him. Another two Deltas went down.

With eleven operators remaining, Knight ran out of rifle ammo. Not missing a beat, he back-slung the rifle and drew a pair of fully automatic Glock 18s. Firing them akimbo, Knight rained lead on the Delta team. Two more Deltas taken out, and another mortally wounded by Rufus.

Brandeis couldn't believe the sight of his men being slaughtered. He attempted not to let his worry show, because when he worried, that was when be turned to plan B, and he preferred to avoid plan B where possible.

"Give it up, Knight! Ya goose is cooked! There's nowhere else you can go!"

"Surrender? You'd have to march right over to my dead body to ask of that from me. You however are the one getting cooked as things stand. Who are you fighting for!"

" _My_ country, Knight! I woulda relished fighting at ya side, but you were used and you ran along like a good lil soldier, get over it!"

"That brings a fucking tear to my eye, Wade! But I'd sooner eat a snake than have it bite me in the ass when I'm not looking!"

Knight reached over and got off a shot. Another man down, but Brandeis saw it coming and took a shot. Knight tripped up on himself, a blessing in disguise as milliseconds later, two rounds shot past where his face had just been.

"Fuck me, that was close." Rufus commented.

Knight didn't even bother responding, he was too in the zone. This was Knight at his most dangerous, a cornered rat biting back hard. Finally, they reached the ante room. It once housed whoever was responsible for the upkeep of the lighthouse, but was long abandoned on this night.

"There ought to be rope in here." Knight said. "We'll need it real soon, because if were Brandeis, I'd be hitting plan B pretty soon, and it won't be pretty."

"On it, bro." Rufus had more or less accepted trusting Knight's instructions to the letter would keep them alive if just for a little longer.

V

Knight gunned down yet another Delta trooper- the squad's signal operator. "Hanes is down! Sir, we're running blind and low on ammo!" a junior Corporal called.

Brandeis blinked, and shook his head. "Roger that. Corporal, I need you to hold this position. We're heading back to the chopper to radio for backup."

"Yes, sir!" the corporal obeyed, not sensing Brandeis' true motives.

Knight did, however. His mind went into overdrive.

"Uhh Rufus! We're about to have a very big problem here!"

"How big?"

"Impromptu building demolition big!" Full auto burst.

"Ah, I've got that rope for you! Pure nylon, oughta hold both our weights."

Rufus scrambled back to the balcony outside the ante room over looking the base of the lighthouse, kneeled beside Knight and began tying a secure knot.

"What's the story, morning glory?"

"There's a storm cellar down at the base. Useful for when the lighthouse is threatened by hurricanes or M19TA demolition charges. I'd give us 45 seconds to reach that cellar," another burst "make that 42."

"That's some new level of cold, bro. How'd you figure that one out?"

"Inter-platoon exercise two years ago. He abandoned his previous squad to capture an objective, while mine cut 'em to shreds. Standard tactics for him, lets his guys hold up the opponent while he goes for the home run. Saw him carrying some of those charges too from before."

"He is the squad leader from hell, ain't he?"

"Uh huh, and if and when we get outta here, I'm sending him back there."

V

_30 seconds_

"Right. I'm done tieing. Let's bust this joint."

He threw the remaining length of rope over the side. Enough to reach the ground with plenty of slack.

_26... 25..._

Knight and Rufus hurriedly attached their carabiners to the rope.

"We'll be easy targets for the guys down there." Rufus said flatly.

"Take this piece, cover me when I go down." Knight handed him one of the Glocks and jumped off the side.

_21... 20..._

Knight whizzed down the rope, past the shocked Delta troopers, Glock blazing as he went. The first two went down, but the third guy still had his wits about him and took a potshot. By sheer chance, he scored a direct hit on Knight's gun hand, blasting the Glock right out of it.

_17...16..._

"AH!!" Knight fell. He landed awkwardly and nearly rolled on his ankle. The fourth guy had him dead to rights, sneered and raised his submachine gun- "Cluck!" Out of ammo. He deftly dropped the empty mag to load a new one. Knight was quicker on the draw with his last gun-

"BOOM BOOM!" It looked and sounded like a handheld cannon. The final two troopers were hurled against the wall, slumped over.

_13...12..._

"Hurry up, Rufus!" Knight shouted, opening up the trapdoor entrance to the cellar.

_11...10..._

Rufus timidly jumped off on to the rope. His rappel was not half as agile as Knight's, the big man falling like a rock.

_6...5..._

Rufus somehow made it to the ground without further injuring himself. His leg was beginning to hurt like hell. The two dashed into the cellar.

_3...2..._

Knight slammed the cellar door down on top of them, huddled inside and waited for the end.

_1... Detonate_

V

The three charges placed around the ring of the lighthouse went off in near perfect synchronization. The base of the lighthouse, already weakened by years of erosion, was instantly turned to powder by the high explosives.

From the chopper, Brandeis and his two fellow ICG operatives watched the derelict lighthouse collapse on itself, stony-faced.

"Shame about Mack, I was starting to like that guy." one of them said.

"He was an ass, but he was a good soldier. Never griped when I briefed him on the op." the other replied.

"They were all good men, Clarke." Brandeis spoke. "Hell, even Knight and Rufus ta' the very end, they were great soldiers. Needed them ta' take the fall and they did."

"Pun intended, sir?"

Brandeis couldn't help chuckling.

"Yeah sure, ya earned the pun." He started up the chopper's engines. Brandeis could fly a Black Hawk with passable skill, so the low wind, full moon conditions tonight helped a lot.

"Snake Pit, this is Taipan."

Noonan answered. "Snake Pit, what's your status?"

"Package has been sealed, we're RTB at this time, over."

"Good work, Taipan. I'll do the necessary to ensure our package doesn't come undone."

"Roger that, I hope this loose end isn't too hard to tie up."

"Even if he's still alive, I could sic a Ranger company on him in 10 hours."

"Haha you work ya magic, Cal. I'll see ya in the debrief room. Over and out."

 

 


End file.
